There is a pretty good and long, but narrow, beach on the Eastern side which I planned to camp at Chris. But the wind was an easterly throughout the night so I decided to pick a more sheltered spot on the North Western side.

Slaughter it's the same here in Everglades National Park in Florida Bay we have over 10,000.00 Islands and we can only camp in 3 of them that I know of, Rabbit key North nest key and an old pirate hang out Pavilion key the rest of the islands within the park are off limits even for hiking we have to anchor 100 feet from shore, even though the park is huge and a lot of the Islands are very remote we can not risk going to shore, there is a park ranger with yellow teeth that's all over the place I dont know how he does it, incredible it's almost cartoon like this guy pops up everywhere, hes very nice and polite but do not brake the rules because it will cost.

Matt,I honestly believe Hobie should buy the copyright of that stunning video from Slaughter, as it is far and away the most compelling "lifestyle" video I have ever seen, and will draw customers to Hobie Islands like a magnet. Incredibly simple, with no gimmicks, even providing handy advice on meals, it has it all.

Hate to admit it but I'm 53 and I no longer consider myself part of the "testosterone" crowd. I rather think of myself as the "Grey Poupon" crowd. For me the video screams class and luxury while experiencing the great outdoors. The Hobie "testosterone" video was one of the reasons I bought my TI, but had I seen Slaughter's "Grey Poupon" video my decision may have been quicker!

I get what you mean HonuSail. The nearest person, that I could see, was about 5kms away. So I moved camp. It's great to go on these trips with a crowd of likeminded people. But it's also great to go it alone sometimes.

The hammock 'Penthouse' is a Hennessy Hammock from over your way. Great value. The support design has been done by a few people using PVC tubing and guy lines. I haven't done a video but here is the thread.

This was my 1st hammock overnighter on the kayak and I was really impressed at how stable it was. I knew it was comfortable as I've used it a few times in the scrub, but even with a few waves, there was no fear that I was going to get wet.

If you need further details, just let me know. Thanks for the compliment.

G'day SlaughterI haven't even watched your video yet as lack of bandwidth will upset the missus internet radio while she does her morning row on the Concept 2 E olympic class rowing machine.I don't know how I missed this thread but I've just read it & I'm looking forward to watching your video production. Knowing your advanced photography skills - not to mention your culinary skills ( who could ever forget the magnificent Pavlova on our Broughton Island trip ), i have no doubt it will be first class!Cheers mate

Mate, We've just watched it for the first time as well (been away for a week -no internet) and all I can say is "What everyone else said!" That was a great yarn and very entertaining - a slick production that has it all -great camera angles, soundtrack and excellent editing.Brilliant!

Great video mate!The hammock looks good too! No ants ( particularly bull ants fleas or other creepy crawlies). Tell me, did you do some weight tests on your rig to see what it can take? As you know, i'm a tad heavier than you and Chris..... What video equipment did you use - how many etc?I agree with everyone else, your video should be used by Hobie and you should have a cooking show with celebrity ( Hobie) guests sharing their favourite recipes etc Make sure you invite Stringy too I'll do the wine segment if you like

Thanks a lot fellas. Really appreciate your feedback. If you ever see anything that doesn’t look right or could be better if…… just tell me . I won’t take it to heart. I just want to get better at it and sometimes I get a bit blinded by it all, or the editing is tiresome, and I’m over it, and I say that’s good enough, when it isn’t. I spose I’m saying that I appreciate constructive criticism as well. Especially from you blokes.

Answering your questions Mike, no insects at all. Took repelant but never used it. Camera was the Panasonic Lumix. Love it but it's just about to be upgraded. Weight for the hammock was not a problem. I strengthened the middle of the PVC tube by glueing in a tube in a tube. Bit heavier poles but I know it's not going the fail. We should so do that. Have another trip away and we all have to prepare a meal, or rabbit on about wine. How gay does that sound ( not that there's anything wrong with that ). It would be pretty funny though.

Stringy, I must admit I wasn't a huge fan of the tramps but I am warming to them and they are a must with the hammock. I bet your eagle eyes also noticed some other irregularities in the video other than just the upside down tramps.

A side issue, off the topic but it’s my thread, and you 2 are into music, so bad luck. I took some video at a band gig in Newcastle the other week. This is a top Aussie blues / rock band that tour the world and play at all the big festivals. As I only had the one camera, yes the Panasonic that I take on the AI, I had to do this song with one take and all the inserts are from other songs. Bloody hard to do. Lighting is crap, and audio is from the camara mono mic, and I’ve got a million excuses but anyways, I YouTubed it and sent it off to them for approval, think’n that they would tell me to delete it from YouTube ( which is fair enough ). They have just come back and asked if they can add it to their website and if I’d like to do some work for them in the future. How stoked am I. Told them that if I go on tour, I want to be the one throwing cocaine into the fan ( I’ve heard about the shenanigans of Rock stars ). Look out for them though. They are touring up and down the East Coast before flying over to do shows in Germany.

Keeping to the off-topic theme. I am mates with Little Feat, arguably THE definitive US southern rock band, and have met up with them in Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, Byron (x2), Sydney (x2), Melbourne (x3) and Auckland. I even organised a party for them in Byron, where we served them Moreton Bay bugs, little boys, fairy bread, pavlova, Vegemite sandwiches etc etc, and filled the washing machine with beer and ice (they really loved that!).Cool dudes

That's pretty big Tony. We will have to discuss more when we catch up on a group sail one day. Would you be keen on a trip out to Broughton Island from either Nelsons Bay or Jimmy Beach / Hawks nest ? We have done the trip previously and one of us has done it a few times. A return trip is long overdue. It's a great trip and would be about equal driving distance for us. Here's the log of our trip.